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Egyptian fans watch Holland v Argentina in Cairo bar
Egyptian football fans are watching the Holland v Argentina semi-final in a bar in Cairo. Photograph: Khaled Desouki/AFP/Getty Images
Egyptian football fans are watching the Holland v Argentina semi-final in a bar in Cairo. Photograph: Khaled Desouki/AFP/Getty Images

Egyptian fans must choose Hebrew or Qatari channel for World Cup final

This article is more than 9 years old
Ultra-nationalists face difficult choice between 'enemy' networks but most people seem only to care about not missing the game

Egyptian football fans are in a fix: they are forced to choose between watching the World Cup final on a channel owned by al-Jazeera, an Arabic network seen by many Egyptians as an enemy of the state, or on an Israeli channel that broadcasts in Hebrew.

For Egyptian ultra-nationalists, it is a painful choice. Their easiest option is BeIN Sports, which broadcasts in Arabic and is the World Cup's official carrier in the Middle East. But a subscription costs around £80 – 10 days' wages for the average Egyptian.

BeIN is owned by al-Jazeera, the Qatar-owned network hated by parts of Egypt for its sympathetic coverage of the Muslim Brotherhood, the group ousted from office last summer and later banned. Three al-Jazeera English journalists were recently jailed in Cairo on trumped-up charges, and their convictions hailed in some quarters.

For objectors to al-Jazeera, one of the few alternatives is the Israeli channel Amos. Amos transmits World Cup matches for free but its commentary is in Hebrew, and it is based in Israel – a country demonised by many in Egypt, despite a 30-year-old peace treaty between the two nations. For the Egyptian Sports Writers' Association, that makes Amos no better than al-Jazeera, since using its services might help normalise relations with Israel.

"We demand all Arabs not to watch Zionist channels, even at the price of not watching the World Cup," the association said in a statement. It added that BeIN's high subscription fee constituted an "al-Jazeera conspiracy to force Arab nations to watch Zionist channels".

The Israeli government welcomed the opportunity to extend its soft power over neighbouring Arab countries. "I hear that many football fans in the region [are] watching World Cup games broadcast live on Israeli channels. Welcome," tweeted Ofir Gendelman, Arabic spokesman for the Israeli prime minister. Warming to his theme, Gendelman then released a list of Hebrew football terms, translated into Arabic.

The move prompted a small backlash inside Egypt, where one former general warned that the Israeli channel might constitute a threat to Egyptian national security. Through its football coverage, Amos could spread "poisonous ideas … into the minds of the Egyptian youth", Major General Abdel Moneim Said told a local website.

But Said's fears are academic, if the cafes of central Cairo are anything to go by. Either through ignorance or apathy, many cafe owners are showing BeIN's coverage – and have lured large crowds who have ultimately prioritised watching football over political statements.

"I don't have a problem watching al-Jazeera," said Ahmed Nabeel, a 37-year-old sports journalist who has watched much of the World Cup. "If there is an important match, I watch it in a cafe. The Egyptian media is fighting anything Qatari, but if you take a closer look you'll find a very low percentage of Egyptians are watching Amos."

Additional reporting by Manu Abdo

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